Mott transition in granular aluminum

Abstract

The presence of free spins in granular Al films is directly demonstrated by $\mu$SR measurements. A Mott transition is observed by probing the increase of the spin-flip scattering rate of conduction electrons as the nano-size metallic grains are being progressively decoupled. Analysis of the magneto-resistance in terms of an effective Fermi energy shows that it becomes of the order of the grains electrostatic charging energy at a room temperature resistivity $\rho \approx 50,000~\mu\Omega~cm$, at which a metal to insulator transition is known to exist. As this transition is approached the magneto-resistance exhibits a Heavy-Fermion like behavior, consistent with an increased electron effective mass.